A mosaic is a decorative object made from pieces of hard substances selected and fitted together to form a desired image or design. The earliest mosaics were made of terra cotta or stone fragments held together by a mortar. The number and possible combinations of different types and sizes of materials that may be used to create a mosaic permit a wide range of uses of mosaics. Mosaics have been used as independent pieces of art, and as decoration for architecture, furniture, jewelry, boxes etc. Mosaics also have been used to reproduce important paintings.
Mosaics typically create what may be thought of as a broken image because numerous lines are created between the pieces of the mosaic. One way of addressing this issue is to create mosaics using very small pieces. Mosaics with very small pieces have been called miniature mosaics. Some miniature mosaics are said to include around 1,400 pieces per square inch, possibly with pieces of a dimension less than 1-millimeter. The pieces used in some miniature mosaics apparently were made from what is called smalti or smalto. Smalti refers to opaque colored glass that has been melted in a furnace and poured onto a slab. As the glass slowly cools, it forms a pancake shape, which is then cut into small strips. These, in turn, are hand cut into small rectangles or cubes. Smalti may also be "spun," which is understood to mean that the smalti is formed into threads or strips by melting a piece of smalto over a flame and by then reducing it into rods. The rods then may be split into smaller sections as needed. Spun smalti also may be referred to a smalti filati. It is believed, however, that smalti and spun smalti have been limited to the creation of pieces of a dimension greater than 0.5 millimeter.
This invention concerns miniature mosaics of extreme fineness and detail. The invention also includes a method of making miniature mosaics.